Rise in fentanyl in Alaska prompts switch to stronger overdose reversal drug

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Police in Alaska say a single dose of Narcan often isn't enough to save someone who is overdosing. The need to administer more naloxone faster prompted the switch to a product that delivers a much higher dose.

A new shipment of the overdose-reversing drug Kloxxado arrived in Anchorage earlier this year. Kloxxado has twice the dose of naloxone as the brand Narcan.

But Lt. Daron Cooper, troopers’ deputy commander in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, said one dose wasn’t always enough to save someone. “It’s much more potent than medical grade fentanyl,” Cutchins said of the newer, illicit forms of fentanyl. “Much more inconsistent. So really, the higher dose of naloxone has really become the standard now.”

The higher dose of naloxone is also welcome news for the Wasilla Police Department. Police spokesperson Amanda Graham said the city saw a major spike in opioid overdoses between May of last year and March of this year. There were 10 reported overdoses in that period, a high number for a city with a fraction of Anchorage’s population. She said police used one dose of Narcan to revive a person in just three of those 10 cases. In the rest, they needed more.

“If you’re in active addiction, and you’re with a friend or someone that you use with is O-Ding, you need to give them naloxone as soon as possible,” Graham said. “Call 911. There’s state laws that protect you when you call 911. You won’t get arrested for saving a life, even if you’re high at the time.”

 

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